Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) yesterday reported that net profit last quarter soared more than fourfold to NT$1.22 billion (US$40.84 million) from NT$286 million a year ago, as customer demand remained strong.
Earnings per share increased from NT$1.01 to NT$4.34 over the period, the machinery maker’s data showed.
First-quarter operating income skyrocketed 210 percent to NT$1.4 billion from NT$452 million for the same period last year, on sales of NT$6.55 billion, up 52 percent from NT$4.3 billion a year earlier.
Gross margin rose to a record-high 40 percent, which the company attributed to higher product prices because of the continuing undersupply of key machinery parts.
The Taipei-based company, which has four plants in Taiwan, plants and research and development centers in three other nations, and branches in six more, produces transmission components used in machinery equipment, with linear guideways and ball screws contributing 57 percent and 25 percent respectively to its total sales last quarter.
Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) said he is optimistic about the firm’s near-term outlook and expects a more solid position in Japan this year.
“Hiwin will likely become the second-largest transmission components supplier in Japan this year,” Chuo told reporters after an investors’ conference, adding that the company has secured ￥10 billion (US$91.32 million) of orders from Japanese clients so far this year.
Chuo did not give a whole-year sales forecast for Hiwin’s Japanese subsidiary, but said the number would definitely be higher than last year’s nearly ￥5 billion.
Hiwin, which began last year to supply machinery components for leading Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co, is to make a decision next month about whether to build a plant in Kobe.
Hiwin has teamed up with Mitsubishi Electric Corp to promote smart manufacturing solutions featuring direct drive motors and high-end CNC controllers.
The firm said it is also expanding capacity in Taiwan, South Korea and Italy, focusing on the development of new products, such as components used in automotive electronic power steering systems, while planning the commercial production of smart ball screws, which will be equipped with sensors to signal short circuits.
Hiwin, with paid-in capital of NT$2.8 billion, said its board has agreed to issue 12 million new shares to improve its financial structure, but has yet to set a price for the new shares.
The company’s capital expenditure this year would be higher than last year’s NT$5.4 billion, associate vice president Leo Liao (廖克皇) said, without elaborating.
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